62 Amendments of Victor NEGRESCU related to 2021/0227(BUD)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the proposed 18% increase in commitment appropriations and 104% increase in payment appropriations of the 2022 Draft Budget as compared to the 2021 budget for the ‘Promoting citizens engagement and participation in the democratic life of the Union’; recalls that the participation in the democratic live of the Union is a fundamental right of the EU’s citizens laid down in Article 10.3 of the TEU; therefore believes that a further increase is necessary to secure enough financial means for the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme and adequate support of the European Citizens' Initiative, among else, and consequently proposes a further 5% increase for this budgetary line; underlines the importance of making sure the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme reaches the entire European Union by taking into consideration a fair, accessible and geographic distribution of the funds; calls for specific additional allocations designed to increase the visibility and impact of the Conference on the Future of Europe by deploying, together with the European Parliament, more and better structured initiatives across Europe and within Member States;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Calls upon the Commission to ensure full implementation of the Union programmes in the fields of culture and education in 2022; reiterates the need to make sure that all programmes are accessible across the Union, in particular to small organizations, vulnerable people and people from remote, rural and isolated areas;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Calls upon the Commission and Member States to seek for a fair and equitable digitalization of the different programmes and projects allowing everyone to participate; urges the Commission and Member States not to penalize NGOs, participants and implementation partners for changes made, in particular by digitalizing the implementation of the projects, in the context of the pandemic; underlines the need to strengthen the digital dimension of the programmes, as it has been underlined in particular in the resolution of the European Parliament of 25 March 2021 on shaping digital education policy, by including initiatives related to artificial intelligence, robotics and digital education or the European Online University;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls for the 2022 budget to contribute to the fulfilment of the priorities outlined in the European Semester, in the European Pillar for Social Rights and the ones agreed upon during the Porto Social Summit;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Regards as insufficient the proposed levels of increase by 0.9% in commitment appropriations and by 3% in payment appropriations for ‘Communication services for citizens’ compared to the 2021 budget; consequently, opposes the Council’s position to reduce by 3,1% funding for this budgetary line; points out that communication services for citizens ought to be state of the art in order to reach EU citizens and engage with them through different communication channels, substantially rendering the Union’s policies more visible; therefore proposes a 5% increase compared to the 2022 Draft Budget levels for ‘Communication services for citizens’ inter alia in view of funding awareness raising and information activities on the European Citizens’ Initiative in cooperation with the Commission Representations and local Europe Direct Centres in the Member States; underlines the importance of involving smaller NGOs, local authorities and stakeholders in communication strategies and actions; calls for making content available in all EU languages and provide native language content to Europeans living in other EU countries;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Regrets the cuts proposed by the Council to the 2022 Union budget and recalls the need to keep the commitments agreed upon for the MFF at the interinstitutional level; underlines that any set-backs could put into danger the fragile consensus and reminds the Council and the Commission that the year 2022 should be a full implementation year for the Union budget and the Recovery and Resilience Facility; calls upon the Commission to speed up the implementation of the Union programmes and recommends that Member States accelerate the preparations and deployment of the initiatives and projects funded by the Union;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Calls for the financing of a specific strategy and initiative focused on citizenship and civic education; calls for the creation within the 2022 EU Budget of a new Agency focusing on citizenship and civic education;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Given the dramatic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis on Europe’s cultural and creative sectors (CCS), reinforces the Culture strand of the Creative Europe Programme, to support organisations and artists in their recovery, to provide targeted support for the performing arts, in particular the music sector, and to ‘green’ and include a social dimension in the programme;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that, in its abovementioned resolution of 25 March 2021 on general guidelines for the preparation of the 2022 budget, Parliament defined clear political priorities for the 2022 budget to support the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and lay the foundations for a more resilient and sustainable Union; reaffirms its strong commitment to those priorities and sets out the following position to ensure an appropriate level of financing to deliver on them;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Calls for an EU inclusive budget that helps Europeans deal with the digital and just green transitions, improves access and the quality of education and healthcare across the Union, enables the creation of high-quality jobs, offers life prospects for young people, integrates seniors and disadvantaged communities, and delivers on our global commitments;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers that the EU budget should continue to support the economic recovery in the European Union after the COVID-19 pandemic and to support EU priorities; calls for an inclusive Union budget that helps Europeans to deal with the digital and just green transitions, improves access to and quality of education and healthcare across the Union, enables the creation of high- quality jobs, offers life prospects for young people, integrates seniors and disadvantaged communities and delivers on our global commitments;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3 d. Stresses that the role of the EU budget is to achieve EU strategic objectives such as cohesion, reducing the disparities between and within Member States and upward convergence, high- quality employment and up-skilling and re-skilling of workers, green economy and innovation, education and healthcare;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes that the Union budget must be equipped with the tools to enable it to respond to multiple crises simultaneously; reiterates Parliament’s view that the 2022 budget should be a full implementation year and should play a pivotal role in ensuring a positive and tangible impact on citizens’ lives; against this background, supports increases to boost investment with a particular focus on SMEs including start-ups, strengthen efforts towards the green and digital transitions, give fresh opportunities to young people and protection to children in particular, build a strong European Health Union; reinforces, further, priorities in the fields of security, migrationgender equality, climate and biodiversity, security, migration, asylum and integration, EU values, fundamental rights, while acknowledging the recent deteriorating situation in external policy and humanitarian aid and the need to be able to react swiftly as well as in the medium and long terms to the upcoming challenges;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3 e. Underlines the risks of politicization of EU funding and calls upon special supervision of potential government-led politicization of EU funds;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 f (new)
Paragraph 3 f (new)
3 f. Reiterates the need for the EU to respect its international commitments and regrets the Council proposal to reduce the funding for external action programs; recalls the importance of using the EU budget actively in order to help our international partners affected by the pandemic and remain active and visible in the neighbouring regions, especially in the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership areas;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 g (new)
Paragraph 3 g (new)
3 g. Underlines the importance of pilot projects and preparatory actions in the framework of the EU budget and calls upon the Commission to show more flexibility in the evaluation and reassessment of the proposals made by the EU budget; calls for a bigger allocation to such initiatives by integrating part of the 'C' evaluated projects considered important by the European Parliament;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Stresses that the role of the Union budget is to achieve EU strategic objectives such as cohesion, reducing the disparities between and within Member States and upward convergence, high- quality employment and up-skilling and re-skilling of workers, green economy and innovation, education and healthcare;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 h (new)
Paragraph 3 h (new)
3 h. Calls upon the Commission to come up with a more rigorous approach towards decommitments and to reallocate and reuse the unspent funds to finance the priority objectives and areas agreed upon at interinstitutional level, especially in areas related to the pandemic management, education, healthcare, innovation and social policies;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Urges the Member States once more to earmark at least 2 % of the Recovery and Resilience Facility for the recovery of the CCS and industries and at least 10 % for education;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Calls for the implementation of the EU Digital Education Policy and of the European Education Area in order to deliver the digital skills objectives; calls upon the Commission to make available to the European Parliament a full report on the criteria upon which a minimum of 20% from the Recovery and Resilience Facility was allocated for the digital transition and how this target has been reached by each Member State; underlines the need to meet the digital skilling targets and make digital education accessible for all; calls upon the Commission to make available to the European Parliament a full report on how the Recovery and Resilience Facility is enabling to deliver on the European Pillar for Social Rights, specially with regards to education, healthcare and social policies;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 i (new)
Paragraph 3 i (new)
3 i. Reconfirms the support given by the European Parliament for the allocation of EU funds in order to make Covid-19 testing widely available for EU citizens and underlines the importance for the Commission and the Council to deliver on this objective as fast as possible in the context of a potential fourth wave; calls upon the Commission and the Council to speed-up vaccination, the accurate information about the vaccination and the preparations in order to prevent and manage any potential new Covid-19 wave;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Insists that no funding from any of the three strands of the Creative Europe Programme should be used for financing projects in the framework of the New European Bauhaus initiative, in line with the repeated commitment of the Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth to this effect, in order to prevent diversion of the programme’s already thinly spread funds towards new, unforeseen political prioritiesWelcomes the increase in the budget of the Creative Europe Programme, needed to ensure the smooth operation of the programme; calls upon the Commission to identify fresh resources for the New European Bauhaus initiative and excludes the possibility of any funds coming from the Creative Europe Programme;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2 c. Calls for the timely and quality implementation, within the Union budget, of the Child Guarantee and of theYouth Guarantee, and underlines the importance of education and life-long learning in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Takes note of Council’s position on the DB, cutting EUR 1,43 billion in commitment appropriations for the MFF headings compared to the Commission’s proposal; considers that the cuts proposed by the Council follow the usual top-down approach of implementing an overall arbitrary reduction target, which is neither driven by an objective assessment of implementation trends nor reflects absorption capacities; points out the contradiction with core shared policy priorities; concludes that the Council’s position is far from Parliament’s expectations for a recovery budget; decides therefore, as a general rule, to restore appropriations on all lines cut by the Council to the level of the DB, for both operational and administrative expenditure, and to take the DB as the starting point to build its position upon; accepts, however, to enter EUR 1 299 million in both commitment and payment appropriations in 2022 for the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) as this reflects the political agreement on the BAR Regulation;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises the importance of sufficient resources for the coordination and surveillance of macroeconomic policies, anti-money laundering, countering financial crime and for enforcement of the economic governance framework; underlines the risks of politicisation of EU funding and calls upon special supervision of potential government-led politicisation of Union funds;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Increases the budget for “Multimedia actions” by EUR 2,2 million and creates a reserve of EUR 5 million, that shall be lifted only after an adequate solution has been identified for the financing of radio networks, in order to encourage the Commission to provide more stability and predictability for the long-term strategic financing of radio networks covering EU affairs with funding covering at least two years; furthermore, splits the existing budget line into its four components, for enhanced budgetary scrutiny.
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Insists that new policy priorities or tasks must be accompanied by fresh resources, and that creating an agency or expanding its mandate should not come at the expense of existing programmes or agencies; reverscompensates, therefore, reductions in appropriations for funding programmes proposed by the Commission to reinforce the financial envelopes of decentralised agencies;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Takes note, in this context, of the recent initiative on a European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA); expresses deep concern over Parliament's exclusion from the decision-making procedure for establishing such an authority, and is strongly opposed to any financing architecture that would redeploy funds away from key objectives and actions initially plannedplanned and agreed by the legislator under Horizon Europe, EU4Health and RescEU; is very concerned that substantial additional funding may derive from the creation of a framework for emergency measures, potentially squeezing the limited margins and special instruments available, and, in some cases, bypassing the budgetary authority where those emergency measures are financed through external assigned revenue; underlines that the timing of such an initiative has not made it possible for Parliament to take it into account in its reading on the 2022 budget; calls for this issue to be addressed during the budgetary conciliation on the 2022 budget;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines the necessity to boost sustainable economic growth, while pursuing reforms to modernise European economies and enhance their competitiveness, as well as facilitating access to finance for SMEs and start-ups;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Calls for the support of the initiative for the creation of one million new start-ups at European level in the Union budget; underlines the importance of education for entrepreneurship and youth entrepreneurship in the development of the Union economy and the planning of the Union budget;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Underlines that the cultural and creative sectors, as well as tourism, cultural tourism and education, are and will continue to be among the main sectors that bear the burden of the COVID-19 crisis the Union is facing; calls for additional measures within the Union budget for those sectors and an additional funding for the related Union programmes, notably the Creative Europe Programme;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Reiterates the need for the Union to respect its international commitments and regrets the Council proposal to reduce the funding for external action programmes; recalls the importance of using the Union budget actively in order to help our international partners affected by the pandemic and to remain active and visible in the neighbouring regions, especially in the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership countries;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Underlines the importance of pilot projects and preparatory actions in the framework of the Union budget and calls upon the Commission to show more flexibility in evaluating and reassessing the proposals made under the Union budget; calls for a bigger allocation to such initiatives by integrating part of the C evaluated projects considered important by the European Parliament;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Highlights that women have been disproportionately affected by the fallout of the COVID-19 crisis; underlines the importance of the implementation of gender-responsive budgeting to ensure that women and men benefit equally from public spending; calls, in this context, on the Commission to accelerate the introduction of an effective, transparent and comprehensive methodology, in close cooperation with Parliament, to measure relevant gender expenditure, as set out in the Interinstitutional Agreement, in order to be able to show tangible results for the 2022 budget and in view of the extension of the methodology to all MFF programmes; calls, furthermore, for the swift implementation of the EU gender equality strategy;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Calls upon the Commission to come up with a more rigorous approach towards decommitments and to reallocate and reuse the unspent funds to finance the priority objectives and areas agreed upon at interinstitutional level, especially in areas related to the pandemic management, education, healthcare, innovation and social policies;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Reconfirms the support given by the European Parliament for the allocation of Union funds in order to make COVID-19 testing widely available for Union citizens and underlines the importance for the Commission and the Council to deliver on this objective as fast as possible in the context of a potential fourth wave; calls upon the Commission and the Council to speed up vaccination, dissemination of accurate information about the vaccination and the preparations in order to prevent and manage any potential new COVID-19 wave;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers that a successful research and innovation programme is essential for the Union’s future prosperity; stresses that Horizon Europe, which has very high European added value, will make a critically important contribution to the Green Deal and efforts towards a climate- neutral economy, to a successful digital transition and to the recovery of the Union economy from the pandemic; highlights in particular the need to bolster Union investment in health research, including funding for cancer research; increases, therefore, the allocation of Horizon Europe over the level of the DB by EUR 305 million in commitment appropriations;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses that the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) plays an absolutely crucial role in the building of high-quality, sustainable, affordable, interconnected trans-European transport, energy and digital networks and is therefore at the heart of efforts to strengthen the Union economy and make a success of the green and digital transitions; recalls that CEF makes a very significant contribution to the overall target of at least 30% climate expenditure from the MFF and Newxt Generation EU (NGEU); proposes therefore to increase the funding for the three CEF strands by a total amount of EUR 207,3 million in commitment appropriations above the level of the DB;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Believes that the Digital Europe Programme is a vital tool in increasing rates of digitalisation in the Union, thereby leading to significant productivity gains, and in helping to bolster investments in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence; recalls the need to support businesses, especially innovative digital SMEs and start-ups; considers that additional appropriations are required to promote digital inclusion and digital literacy across Europe, with a specific focus on vulnerable groups and women; proposes therefore to increase the amount allocated to the programme by just over EUR 71 million;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Supports increases to the various strands of the Single Market Cluster by a total amount of just over EUR 37 million in commitment appropriations above the level of the DB; draws particular attention to the need to significantly increase the line dedicated to improving the competitiveness of enterprises, including start-ups, and their access to markets, considering the severe and long-lasting consequences of the crisis on SMEs; calls also for a targeted increase of the line ensuring high level of consumer protection and product safety; Considers that InvestEU is a cornerstone of the recovery strategy in a post-pandemic context and underlines the need for the full and rapid deployment of the programme; stresses in particular the importance of the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal in strengthening the investment and business environment across all regions of the European Union; for these reasons, rejects any cut to this programme and decides to restore all relevant budget lines to the level of the DB;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Reiterates its long-standing request for a dedicated budget line and allocation for tourism, particularly considering the severe contraction that the sector, which includes many SMEs, has experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; acknowledges that several EU programmes contribute to the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of the sector, but strongly believes that an EU tourism programme would ensure more coordinated, visible and transparent action; underlines that such a programme should support the design, implementation and enforcement of Union legislation that supports the sector’s recovery, while putting it back on a path towards a sustainable future, economically, socially and environmentally;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Decides to create a separate budget line under the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), to provide a special additional allocation to foster the implementation of the European Child Guarantee in order to contribute to eradicate child poverty and to meet targets of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action plan, while mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic on children; reinforces, for this purpose, Sub- heading 2a by EUR 700 000 000 above the DB in commitment appropriations (excluding pilot projects and preparatory actions), to be financed by using the available margin and mobilising the special instruments;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Recalls that the support of the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU) to the ESF+ and to the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) should contribute to provide notably for job creation and quality employment, in particular for people in vulnerable situations, and for social inclusion and poverty eradication measures, notably on child poverty;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Underlines that additional resources should notably be allocated for sexual and reproductive health and right services (SRHR), particularly to ensure timely and free access, as well as quality of services;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Proposes, further, a reinforcement to the Culture strand of the Creative Europe Programme to support Europe’s cultural and creative sectors and creative industry, particularly hit by the COVID-19 crisis, in the recovery; underlines that no funding from any of Creative Europe’s three strands should be used for financing projects in the framework of the New European Bauhaus initiative;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Decides to increase the budget for “"Multimedia actions” and", to create a reserve in order to encourage the Commission to provide more stability and predictability for radio networks covering EU affairs with funding covering at least two years and to clarify the different objectives financed thorough this budget line; increases, also, appropriations on social dialogue in order to enhance social dialogue and support in particular national social partners in the post-Covid responseo respond to the he long-term consequences of the Covid crisis;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Deems it necessary to increase appropriations for the Turkish Cypriot Community budget line for the purpose of contributing decisively to the continuation and intensification of the mission of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, the wellbeing of Maronites wishing to resettle and that of all enclaved persons as agreed in the 3rd Vienna Agreement, and of supporting the bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, thereby promoting trust and reconciliation between the two communities;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Recalls, the importance of the LIFE programme in supporting climate action and environmental protection; in the light of the programme’s remarkable absorption capacity, calls for the level of budgetary support for LIFE to be increased across the various programme strands by 25% above DB; highlights that any annual reinforcements for the LIFE programme will imply progress towardscontribute to the mainstreaming targets and ambitions in the areas of climate and biodiversity;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34 a. Recalls the importance of providing the EU budget with a sufficiently detailed nomenclature to allow the budgetary authority to fulfil its decision-making role effectively and for Parliament in particular to fulfil its democratic oversight and scrutiny roles across all headings; regrets, therefore, that the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund does not benefit from a more detailed nomenclature reflecting the specific objectives of the Fund;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Strongly objects to Council’s cuts toDecides to place EUR 90 000 000 of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) as the agency must be adequately equipped to enable it to deliver in all areas of responsibility falling under its new mandate; decides, however, to place EUR 90 000 000 into the reserve subject to the recruitment of the remaining 20 fundamental rights monitors at AD grade, the recruitment of the three deputy executive directors and the adoption of a procedure for the implementation of Article 46 of Regulation 2019/18969 ; _________________ 9Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2019 on the European Border and Coast Guard and repealing; requires also the agency to present an adapted Serious Incident Report (SIR) mechanism in line with the recommendations of the working group on fundamental rights and legal operational aspects of operations in the Aegean sea (FRaLO) is presented, to establish a fully functioning fundamental rights monitoring system in line with Article 110 (paragraphs 1(1) and 2) (2) of Regulations (EU) No 1052/2013 and (EU) 2016/1624 (OJ L 295, 14.11.2019, p. 1).2019/1896 and to successfully implement recommendation 5 of the last European Court of Auditor’s report on Frontex by the end of 2021;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. Emphasises that at a time when external challenges and matters of international politics are gaining importance in international politics, the Union must ensure that the external dimension of its budget is appropriately funded and prepared to respond without delay to current, emerging as well as future and long term challenges; insists on supporting agreed priorities under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI-Global Europe) and Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III);
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Emphasises the need to increase funding for Western Balkan countries and the countries of the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood to support comprehensive political and socio-economic reforms and recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and its long-term economic consequencsocial, environmental and economic consequences and to increase funding for civil society and non-state actors in accession countries; points, in that context, to the need to ensure adequate funding for crucial areas such as democracy support, civil society and the rule of law;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42 a. Underlines that all programmes under the EU external policy should contribute to gender mainstreaming;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 b (new)
Paragraph 42 b (new)
42 b. Calls for the EU to step up its contribution to UNRWA to EUR 142 million in 2022 in recognition of its essential role as unique provider of vital services for millions of Palestine refugees and as an investment towards security, stability and development in the region;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Expresses deep concern about the ongoing situation in Afghanistan and other international situations; believes that the humanitarian aid budget for Afghanistan and neighbouring countries should be significantly increased to support and protect vulnerable Afghans and their families; given the expected needs to be financed by the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve, both internally and externally, that might lead to financial shortcomings, decides to reinforce the funding of the humanitarian aid by 20%;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Stresses the need to support developing countries in improving their health systems and accessing COVID-19 vaccines, particularly through the COVAX initiative; decides, therefore, to earmark the amount of EUR 1 billion under the emerging challenges and priorities cushion of NDICI-Global Europe to this effect, as well as a further EUR 100 million under the line “"People - Global Challenges”" to finance immediate, middle and long term challenges; requests that Member States fulfil the COVAX pledges already made and invites them to commit additional EUR 2 billion, either to COVAX or in vaccine doses, in the first semester of 2022;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Highlights the Union’s global support efforts for refugees and recalls the important role played by Turkey and the other host countries in welcoming refugees from Syria; reaffirms that the Union and its Member States must continue to provide effective and monitored aid to Syrian refugees in host countries; emphasises that the future funding for the needs of the Syrian refugees was not factored in the MFF or NDICI-Global Europe negotiations and should therefore not be borne by the programmed instruments, including the NDICI-Global Europe cushion, as the package in favour of refugees from Syria, Iraq and other countries is not responding to a new crisis or unforeseen needs; requests that any successor of the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRT) shall be financed by fresh appropriations and by additional contributions from the Member States and should be accompanied by the corresponding revision of the MFF regulation to increase the ceiling of Heading 6 in order to reflect the actual financial needs for the EU external actions;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45 a (new)
Paragraph 45 a (new)
45 a. Underlines the key role of the EU Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to Moldova, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Jordan, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Ukraine to promote investments and and support recovery from the COVID-19 crisis;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Emphasises that the protection and promotion of human rights and democracy globally as well as the empowerment of women and protection of vulnerable groups, such as children, continues to be of core interest for the Union’s external action; decides therefore, to increase the funding of these lines;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49
Paragraph 49
49. Stresses that, given the new legislative proposals, such as Fit for 55 package and increased Union spending due to NGEU and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, some services, in particular the Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), will need staff reinforcements; asks the Commission to reassess these needs and to propose these reinforcements in its Amending letterduring the conciliation, without undermining the actual human resources level in its other services;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50
Paragraph 50
50. Recalls the importance of pilot projects and preparatory actions (PP-PAs) as tools for the formulation of political priorities and the introduction of new initiatives that have the potential to turn into standing Union activities and programmes; having carried out a careful analysis of all the proposals submitted and taking fully into account the Commission's assessment of their respect of legal requirements and implementability, adopts a balanced package of PP-PAs that reflects Parliament’s political priorities; calls on the Commission to swiftly implement PP-PAs and provide feedback on their performance and results delivered on the ground;